Could a new pancreatic cancer drug double survival rates? Malaysian doctor leads breakthrough Chicago trial

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — A Malaysian doctor has led a breakthrough clinical trial in Chicago, where an experimental drug doubled one-year survival rates for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, offering fresh hope against one of the deadliest cancers.

Dr Devalingam Mahalingam, who heads the study at Northwestern University, said the treatment significantly improved outcomes among patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, a disease where most survive less than a year after diagnosis.

The phase two clinical trial found that patients treated with elraglusib alongside standard chemotherapy were twice as likely to be alive after one year compared to those receiving chemotherapy alone, while the treatment also reduced the risk of death by 38 per cent.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, mark one of the few significant advances in recent years to demonstrate a meaningful survival benefit for a broad group of pancreatic cancer patients.

“Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging solid tumours to treat, but these findings provide cautious optimism,” Mahalingam said.

Mahalingam and his team are now pursuing a phase three trial to validate the findings, raising hopes that the treatment could eventually benefit patients globally.

The trial involved 233 patients across 60 sites in North America and Europe, focusing on those with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients receiving elraglusib recorded a median survival of 10.1 months, compared to 7.2 months for those on chemotherapy alone.

Notably, 44 per cent of patients in the treatment group were alive after one year, compared to 22 per cent in the control group, while about 13 per cent survived up to two years, a milestone not observed among those receiving chemotherapy alone.

Researchers said the drug works differently from conventional treatments by targeting the tumour microenvironment and reactivating the body’s immune response against cancer cells.

While side effects such as fatigue and low white blood cell counts were reported, the study found the drug’s safety profile to be manageable.

Pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat. — Bernama